Adelaide Afternoon Newsbyte June 26
0:48

The Barossa community mourning a much-loved local killed in a shocking light plane crash, sludge takes over the Torrens and the Crows blood a new recruit ahead of the Showdown.

TEN

27 Jun 2014

News

“We need to try to get up and be buoyant out of respect for both Garry and Sam,” he said.

Close friend Chris Morgan, who has known Mr Williams since the age of eight, said he was a “great guy”.

“He provided great entertainment to us all over the years,” Mr Morgan said. “He was a fantastic family man and one of the nice guys of life.”

The Barossa District Football and Netball Club is also mourning the loss of Mr Duggan, who was coach of the under-11 junior team.

Police at the scene of the fatal air crash in the Barossa. Picture: Tait Schmaal

Club president Simon Taylor said Mr Duggan was a well-loved club stalwart who was also heavily involved in the local tennis club.

“He’s just one of those classic country community people that every club would want,” he said,

“He loved working with the kids and the kids loved him, he was doing such a fantastic job, he’s just going to be irreplaceable.”

The club last night allowed junior players to have a kick with the A-grade after a meeting attended by about 70 parents.

Mr Taylor said players would wear black armbands during tonight’s under-11s match and Saturday’s matches, and that a counsellor would attend training next Tuesday to offer support.

He said Mr Duggan’s family had been rallying around Mrs Duggan, their two sons and young daughter, and the close-knit community would do the same.

“He’s just been a tremendous part of the community and we will do what we can to support Naomi and the kids,” he said.

The Duggans’ three children attend local schools Faith Lutheran College in Tanunda and St Jakobi Lutheran School at Lyndoch.

Bridgestone Australia, where Mr Williams and Mr Duggan worked together in the 1990s, also paid tribute today.

“It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the tragic loss of our former work colleagues Garry Williams and Anthony Duggan,” Bridgeston Australia managing director Andrew Moffatt said.

“Garry worked at Bridgestone Australia for 23 years. He started with the company in 1983 and finished in 2006 as a senior management member of our automotive division.

“Garry was highly regarded and respected by all who worked with him and he will be sorely missed. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family, including his wife Meredith, son Sam and daughter Erin.

“Anthony Duggan worked for the company as an engineer for a short period in the early 1990s. Our thoughts and condolences are also with his family during this difficult time.”

Lyndoch Lutheran Church Pastor Paul Hannola said he was supporting the Duggan family.

“Obviously it’s a tight-knit community and he was an integral part of the community here.”

FOG AND CLOUD AS A FLIGHT TURNS FATAL

By Jordanna Schriever

AN ultralight plane that crashed into a Barossa Valley paddock, killing two men yesterday morning, may have encountered problems in poor weather.

The two-seater Tecnam P96 Golf crashed between Rockford Wines and Villa Tinto Winery, just after 8am.

Pilot Anthony Duggan, 44, and his passenger, Garry Williams, 52, of Glenelg East, died at the scene.

Authorities said witnesses described seeing the ultralight plane in trouble as it flew through fog and low cloud.

Part of the plane’s wing was located in another paddock about 1km east of where the fuselage was found.

The plane, which had taken off from Barossa Valley Helicopters at Lyndoch on a flight to Mildura, burst into flames when it crashed before being extinguished by winery staff.

Recreational Aviation Australia president Michael Monck — whose organisation is investigating the incident — said it was unknown what caused the crash, but poor visibility would be considered.

“Witness reports stated there was a bit of fog and low cloud, which we will look at as a contributing factor,” he said.

Mr Monck said any findings and recommendations from the investigation would be dealt with internally.

“We will look at those findings and draw some preliminary conclusions and see if there is anything we can do to prevent a similar accident from happening again,” he said.

SA Police Chief Inspector Alex Zimmermann said a witness from one of the two adjacent wineries had seen the crash.

“The aircraft came down between two wineries and fortunately it didn’t crash in to either of those buildings and there were workers at one of the wineries who called us and they were first on scene,” he said.

“We’ve got a very comprehensive statement from that person about what he saw the aircraft was doing at the time.

“Certainly there is no suggestion they were doing aerobatics. What I can say is that it appears they were having some difficulty just prior to the crash.”

Insp Zimmermann said the aircraft had been hired by the men, but did not know the purpose of the flight.

He said he was not aware of any mayday calls made from the plane.

SES volunteers get ready to cover the wreckage of the aircraft for investigators. Picture: Tait SchmaalSource: News Limited

Local pilot David Lindner visited the crash site after being contacted about the plane crash.

He said he had flown the plane about six weeks earlier without incident and said it was owned by a local syndicate which kept it housed in the Lyndoch area.

“I loved flying it,” he said.

Mr Lindner said yesterday’s poor conditions would have likely contributed to the crash.

“I think it’s the result of flying in conditions that really weren’t suitable for flying.”

He said it was possible the pilot had become disoriented in yesterday morning’s low cloudy weather, putting the aircraft under stress and causing it to break up.

“There wasn’t a lot of wind to my knowledge but there was very low cloud,” he said.

A staff member from Rockford Wines said she and other employees had arrived at work shortly after the crash.

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